Balancing health, work, and daily life: design and evaluation of a pilot intervention for persons with HIV/AIDS.
OBJECTIVE
To design and evaluate a pilot intervention to promote self-management skills and work transition for persons with HIV/AIDS. The seven-week group intervention consisted of 1.5-hour bi-weekly sessions focused on goal setting and developing strategies to manage health, work and daily life routines while participating in a job skills training program in New York City.


METHODS
Six successive groups received the intervention over the course of two years (n = 53). Existing and newly-developed measures were used to examine key outcomes. Differences between pre-intervention and post-intervention scores on outcome measures were examined using paired-tests and effect sizes. Employment outcomes and participant satisfaction were examined post-intervention.


RESULTS
The intervention was feasible to implement and sessions were viewed favorably by the majority of participants. Moderate to large effect sizes were found immediately post-intervention in participants' perceived ability to work and balance health, work and daily life. Fifty two percent of the participants were working part or full time and 41% were actively searching for employment at three to five months follow-up. Small effect sizes demonstrating improved outcomes at follow-up were found in symptom severity, self-advocacy and medication adherence self-efficacy. Small effect sizes demonstrating a potential decrement in outcomes at follow-up were found in participants' need satisfaction and perceived symptom impact on work performance.


CONCLUSIONS
The results are promising, but further research is needed due to design limitations and the preliminary nature of the intervention and measures used. The potential decrement in outcomes might reflect a shift in participants' needs or view of how their health affected work performance and suggests that ongoing supports were needed post-intervention.
Bedell
Gary
G
Tufts University, Department of Occupational Therapy, Medford, MA 02155, USA. gary.bedell@tufts.edu
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care